31_Hera's Next Surprise

” Whoa! ” Brody said as gasps and exclamations rang out from all around. Heracles was staring straight ahead, his expression stony. Nearby, Iphicles was hiding his face in his hands and shaking his head. ” This is bad, ” Julia muttered. “ This is really bad! ” “ I know, ” Brody agreed. “ The gods’ bet makes the Olympics seem like a football game that nobody can win. “ If I beat Heracles at even one event, he’ll end up in that terrible Tartarus place. ” Julia nodded. “ If that happens, he might never become the great hero he’s supposed to be! ”

“哇！”布罗迪说道，周围响起了喘息声和惊叹声。赫拉克勒斯凝视着前方，表情僵硬。 在附近，伊菲克勒斯双手掩面，摇着头。 “这太糟糕了，”朱莉娅喃喃地说。“这真糟糕！” ”我知道，”布罗迪同意。“这些神们的打赌让奥运会看起来像一场没有人能赢的足球比赛。” 如果我在哪怕一场比赛中击败赫拉克勒斯，他最终会在那个可怕的塔尔塔罗斯落幕。” 茱莉亚点了点头。“如果发生这种情况，他可能永远不会成为他应该成为的伟大英雄！”

” But if Heracles wins everything, Zeus might kill me or make me his slave, ” Brody reminded her. “ I don’t like the sound of that, either. ” ” Neither do I. So what are we going to do?” Julia said. “ We need a plan. ” ” There’s nothing we can do, ” Markos said. “ Now that the stakes are higher, the other gods will work even harder to defeat Heracles. We won’t be able to stop them, and we will surely suffer if we try. ” “ But Heracles is our friend now, ” Julia argued. “ We can’t just—”

“但如果赫拉克勒斯赢得了一切，宙斯可能会杀了我，或者让我成为他的奴隶，”布罗迪提醒她。“我也不喜欢那种声音。” “我也不想，那我们该怎么办？”茱莉亚说。“我们需要一个计划。” “我们无能为力，”马库斯说。“现在赌注更大了，其他诸神将更加努力地击败赫拉克勒斯。我们无法阻止他们，如果我们尝试，我们肯定会遭受受伤。” ”但赫拉克勒斯现在是我们的朋友了，”茱莉亚争辩道。“我们不能……”

She stopped herself as Hermes flew over. The wings on his sandals were fluttering so fast that Brody could hardly see them. “ Come, boy. ” Hermes’ eyes flashed with excitement. “ This bet makes things much more interesting, does it not? “ The champion who beats Heracles and sends him to Tartarus will become a legend. And I wish that person to be my champion! Let’s get back to training! ” Over the next couple of days, Brody’s life got even busier than it had been before.

赫耳墨斯飞过时，她停下了脚步。他的凉鞋上的翅膀飞得很快，布罗迪几乎看不见。 ”来吧，孩子。”赫耳墨斯的眼睛里闪烁着兴奋的光芒。“这个赌注让事情变得有趣多了，不是吗？” ”击败赫拉克勒斯并将其送往塔尔塔罗斯的冠军将成为传奇。我希望那个人能成为我的冠军！让我们继续训练吧！” 在接下来的几天里，布罗迪的生活变得比以前更加忙碌。

Hermes made him train for hours each day. In the evenings the messenger god lectured Brody on strategies to beat Heracles. It was pretty boring. Besides that, it left Brody no time to talk privately with Julia and Markos. One morning at breakfast, Julia set a platter of barley cakes in front of Brody. Brody quickly looked around the table. Hermes had arrived, but he was busy talking to Caerus. ” Listen, ” Brody whispered to Julia. “ What are we going to do about Heracles?”

赫尔墨斯让他每天训练几个小时。晚上，信使向布罗迪传授击败赫拉克勒斯的策略。 这很无聊。除此之外，这让布罗迪没有时间与朱莉娅和马库斯聊天了。 一天早上早餐时，茱莉亚在布罗迪面前摆了一盘大麦蛋糕。布罗迪迅速环顾桌子。 赫耳墨斯已经到了，但他正忙着和卡埃罗斯交谈。 “听着，”布罗迪低声对茱莉亚说。“对于赫拉克勒斯，我们要做些什么？”

“ I don’t know, ” Julia whispered back. She pretended to be serving more food so she could stand there for a minute. “ But Markos and I are thinking about a plan. ” " You’d better think fast, ” Brody said. “ The Olympics are only three days away! ” ” Hurry and eat, my champion, ” Hermes called suddenly. “ We have much work to do today. ” Brody started eating as Julia moved away. He knew he’d better eat fast. Hermes was impatient, and yesterday he hadn’t even let Brody stop for lunch. Training for the Olympics was hard enough without trying to do it on an empty stomach!

“我不知道，”茱莉亚小声回答。她假装在供应更多的食物，以便能在那里站一会儿。“但马库斯和我正在考虑一个计划。” "你们最好快点想，”布罗迪说。“离奥运会只有三天了！” “快点吃吧，我的冠军，”赫耳墨斯突然喊道。“我们今天有很多事情要做。” 茱莉亚离开时，布罗迪开始吃东西。他知道他最好快点吃。赫尔墨斯很不耐烦，昨天他甚至没有让布罗迪停下来吃午饭。 为了奥运会的训练已经足够艰苦的，更不用说在空腹的情况下进行训练！

By the time Brody returned to Markos’ house that evening, he was exhausted. Hermes had made him practice every single event of the Games. Brody’s cheek was bruised where Athena’s champion had hit him during their boxing match. His leg throbbed where one of the chariot horses had kicked him. Every muscle in his body ached from running and wrestling and throwing things. “ I hope dinner is ready soon, ” he said, collapsing onto a bench in the courtyard.

那天晚上布罗迪回到马科斯家时，他已经筋疲力尽了。赫尔墨斯让他练习了奥运会的每一个项目。 布罗迪的脸颊被雅典娜的拥护者在拳击比赛中击中的地方擦伤了。 他的腿被一匹战车马踢到的位置疼得颤抖着。由于跑步、摔跤和投掷东西，他身体的每一块肌肉都感到疼痛。 ”我希望晚餐很快就准备好了，”他瘫倒在院子里的长椅上说到。